Pages

Friday, May 20, 2011

My husband and I both grew up in Montgomery Co., Indiana, and when I started my family research I went to the Montgomery county library in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Montgomery became a county in 1823 and my husband’s ancestors where there when it was still a wilderness from both sides of his family. David and Jemima Masterson Craig were first from his father’s line. They came in 1822 {189 years ago} from Butler County, Ohio. Their daughter, Sarah Craig Jackson’s obituary says there were only 3 houses when they came. The next two families were from his mom’s side in 1824 and 1825, James and Elizabeth Linn Chesterson and James’s widowed mother, Charity Powers Chesterson, and Elizabeth’s widowed father, James H. Linn, from Butler Co., Ohio and James’s sisters, Abigail and her husband, Paul Burk, Elizabeth, Hannah and Sarah. An article on James grandson, John Chesterson, says John was living on the old homestead of 120 acres that his grandfather bought when Montgomery County was a wilderness. James Chesterson bought 80 acres on April 20, 1826 and 120 acres on September 1, 1826. James and Elizabeth Chesterson, James H. Linn, and Charity Powers Chesterson all buried in the old FinleyChapelCemetery. Next were Richard and Jane Beard Breaks in 1824. They came from Wayne Co., Indiana, but before that Jane’s family was from North Carolina and Richard had come from England. Articles on Richard talk about the wilderness he came to and how he protected his house from the Indians. There was a BreaksSchool in MontgomeryCounty and there is a BreaksCemetery. His first wife, Jane Beard Breaks died at the age of 33, leaving him with 6 children to care for, he married two more times and had a total of eleven children. Richard had lots of land but gave most of it to his children when they married. Next were Ebenezer and Nancy Chambers Jackson from his father’s side that also came from Wayne Co., Indiana and before that Ashe Co., North Carolina. Ebenezer bought 160 acres on April 10, 1824 and died 3 months later on July 12, 1825 at the age of 39, leaving a widow and 7 children ranging in age from 16 years to a 4 months old baby, the next day his 11 year old daughter died. His widow, Nancy, remained a widow, and died Dec. 25, 1859 at the age of 71.About 1828 my husband’s parental side, Andrew and Sarah Crooks Shanklin came from Bath Co., KY., they were Presbyterians in Bath, and they joined the Center Presbyterian Church in Crawfordsville where Andrew became an Elder and he along with other members financed WabashCollege. His daughter, Sarah, married James Chambers Jackson who had come with his parents in 1823 when he was about 14. Then in 1830 my husband had 2 more families that came from his paternal side, and my first ancestors came, husband’s was John and Polly Jacobs Coleman and George and Martha Talbot Stump. George and Martha came from Campbell Co., Kentucky and John and Polly came from Hamilton Co., Ohio. Not sure exactly when my first one came, it was Andrew Johnson and Matilda Huston, my maternal line. I do not know where they were living before 1830. Their marriage is recorded in Book #1 in MontgomeryCounty on February 28, 1830. Andrew Johnson was from the South and was cousin to ex-president, Andrew Johnson. Matilda was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio in 1812. She was 18 and Andrew was 43 when they married. They lived the rest of their life out in Montgomery Co., IN., renting land and working on farms. They had 8 children. Matilda tells how poor they were when she applied for pension when her oldest son was killed in the battle of Chickamauga in the Civil War. My next ancestor was Presley Simms {spelled Symmes when he first came}. He lived in the same neighborhood as Andrew Johnson in 1830. He came from Orange Co., IN. but before that was in Ky. for a few years and before that he had lived, and was a Revolutionary War solider in Stafford Co., VA., he applied for pension in 1833 in Montgomery Co., IN. and his name is on the Monument in front of the Crawfordsville court house. Nathan Harvey Hobson also came about 1830 from Orange Co., IN., his wife had died and he married his second wife in Orange Co., IN., before that he had been a Quaker in Chatham Co., North Carolina. His daughter, Elizabeth Hobson married Presley Simms’s son, Burrell Simms, on Nov. 26, 1841 in Montgomery. Nathan also lived in same neighborhood as Presley Simms and Andrew Johnson. My husband then had 7 families come from 1831-1834 all on his maternal side; Ezekiel and Julia Everett from Pennsylvania, William and Sarah Higgason from Kentucky, and before that Virginia, George and Mary Byrd from Warren Co., Ohio. George was on 1832 tax list in Warren Co., Ohio and was on the 1840 census in Montgomery Co., Indiana. George died in 1841 and is buried in the LutheranCemetery in Union Twp., Montgomery Co., IN., his son; Ephraim married Elliann Chesterson on Oct. 12, 1843. Elliann had come with her parents in 1825, as a baby, her parents James and Elizabeth Linn Chesterson being one of the earliest settlers in Montgomery Co., IN., James Hopper, widow, his wife Harriett Buress had died in Wayne Co., Indiana, and Archelous and Jemima Whaley VanHook from Harrison Co., KY., and their married children, one daughter, Peninah who was married to Jehu Chadwick.

In the 1840’s the Lewellen’s came on my husband’s parental side from Preble Co., Ohio, Thomas and Mary Crane Lewellen, and George and Mary Snyder Grimes from Clinton Co., IN. on his maternal side. Finally in 1860’s my GG grandparents, Hiram and Mary Crutchfield Davis came from Boone Co., IN., Hiram’s parents, Charles Michael and Sarah Ann Davis were from Jennings Co., IN. when it was a wilderness in 1820 and had married there in 1822. Mary’s parents, Richard and Keziah Owen Crutchfield, had come from Clark Co., KY. to Putnam Co., IN. when it was but a wilderness, her father buying land there in 1826 when she was 5 years old. My husband had Curtis and Charlotte Bennett Lewis from parental side that came in 1860’s from Butler Co., Ohio and in 1880 my husband’s GG grandparents, William and Mary Fenner Fry from maternal side that came from Tuscarawas Co., Ohio. The rest came in 1900, his Great grandfather, Elmer Proctor, came from Rockcastle Co., KY. alone, and in 1901 married Nannie Lewis whose great grandparents had come in 1860’s, and his great grandfather, Meritt McCloud at age of 17, came with his parents, Joshua and Mary Catherine Morphew McCloud from Putnam Co., IN., and married Laura Alice Lewellen’s whose grandparents had come in 1840’s, and 3 of my great grandparents came as teen-agers, in 1900, from the Appalachian area of Kentucky. Joseph Rivers came with his parents, Joseph and Emily Sullivan Rivers from Taylor Co. {area that was Green Co.} Kentucky. Joseph Rivers married Etta Mae Simms whose great grandparents {Presley and Nancy Simms} had come in the 1830’s. Wilburn Long Sr. came with his parents, Joseph Henry and Lucy Conkright Long from Montgomery Co., KY., and in 1906 he married Merttie Lee Powers who had come in 1900 as a teen-ager with her parents, James and Emily Frisby Powers from Montgomery Co., KY., but her childhood had been in Menifee Co., KY.
That's a total of 32 surnames our children are related to in Montgomery Co., IN., needless to say, my daughter will not date anyone from Montgomery County, for fear they are related to one of these 32 surnames.

Blog Archive

About Me

I have been researching my family and my husband's family for some time now. In my research I have been able to trace most of our families from England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Moravia, Germany, Holland and Switzerland. The first were the colonial New England families on my dad's side, and the Appalachians and colonial Tidewater Virginia on my Mom's side, we have French Huguenots to New Amsterdam and Pennsylvania, Anabaptist, Quakers,Mennonites, Puritans,Baptist, Methodist,Presbyterians, Lutherans, Moravians. Most of our ancestors came to Colonial America and helped start towns and build churches, fought in all the wars. I also have paper trails to European Kings, and have 8 of the 25 signers of the Magna Carta along with King John, that were ancestors of my colonial American English ancestors, no way to know if it is true, as being that far back there could be a child born out of wedlock, but as far as paper trails go, I do have that.I'm going to use this blog to tell their stories and maybe to get help with my brick walls.